This invention relates to venting plumbing systems, and, more specifically, to an apparatus for venting plumbing pipes through the roof of a building using existing ventilation structures.
In building structures, it is well known that plumbing systems must be vented to the outside in order to prevent methane and sewer gas from escaping into the interior of the structure. Presently, openings are cut through the roof of the structure in order to vent plumbing fixtures, thereby damaging the structural integrity of the roof. Typically, each venting pipe requires its own opening. A plumber may have to cut as many as ten to twenty holes in the roof of a building in order to properly vent the plumbing system. Each opening presents the possibility of a future leak in the roof around the upstanding pipe. Plumbers must use various seals, gaskets, and flashing in order to prevent the occurrence of a leak. Finally, the appearance of numerous pipe vents in a roof can be quite unattractive.
The present invention enables plumbers to utilize pre-existing ventilation systems in order to vent plumbing fixtures.
Currently, several different ventilation systems are used to remove heat from the attic of a building. Turbine ventilators, roof ventilators, ridge ventilators, and hip ventilators work well because they are mounted on the roof above the attic, often near or at the highest point of a building. The present invention provides an apparatus to which multiple plumbing vents can be attached in order to vent them. The plumbing vent apparatus can be mounted under any of the several presently-used roof ventilators, allowing methane and sewer gases to exhaust out of the plumbing vents, through the plumbing vent apparatus, and out the roof ventilator. Using the plumbing vent apparatus obviates the need to cut additional holes in the roof to vent plumbing systems. No modifications must be made, either to the roof or to the ventilators.
The plumbing vent apparatus of the present invention consists of a body with two sides, a bottom and two end caps, which may be removable. The apparatus can be preassembled prior to installation. When the apparatus will be used with a ridge ventilator or a hip ventilator, each end cap has a slot which is fitted around the ridge rafter or hip rafter. A plumber installs the body of the plumbing vent apparatus in the roof opening made for the ventilation system. Mounting flanges on the top of the two sides are nailed to the roof decking. The turned edges of end caps are inserted into channels or grooves on the body, thereby enclosing the body. The venting system is then installed over the plumbing vent apparatus. For each plumbing pipe to be vented, a polyvinylchloride (PVC) male adapter has been screwed into a hole in the bottom side of the plumbing vent apparatus. The end of the plumbing pipe, also made from PVC, is glued into the other end of the adapter. Covers are placed into unused openings in the plumbing vent apparatus; the covers are removable for later use. Methane and sewer gases are vented from the plumbing pipes through the plumbing vent apparatus and out through the roof ventilator. Finally, an alternate embodiment is disclosed for mounting the apparatus onto a ridge rafter or hip rafter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for ventilating the plumbing system of a structure without making additional holes in a roof.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for consolidating several plumbing vents and venting them out of the roof at one location.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can be used with the presently-existing roof ventilator systems, with no modifications to the roof ventilator or to the roof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a plumbing vent apparatus which is easy to fabricate and to install.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a plumbing vent apparatus which functions with code-approved materials.